answersLogoWhite

0

A mature mare comes into heat every 3 weeks during the breeding season in summer. She may also come into heat at other times during the year but her cycles will be less frequent. You can tell when a mare is in heat because her behavior will probably change. Some mares become snappy and unmanageable, others become placid and sooky and hang all over you. All will hold their tails higher, urinate frequently, and wink the flaps of the vulva in the presence of other horses. They will also show obvious interest in stallions. Once she is bred, a mare's gestation will last from 11-12 months. During the last four months of pregnancy, she must limit her physical activity and usually cannot be entered in shows or ridden hard. She can become pregnant again just a few weeks after giving birth, because by the time she approaches her next foaling, her current offspring will have been weaned. Foals should ideally be weaned at around 6-8 months, but this can happen earlier if necessary. Racehorses are backed (taught to wear a saddle) as one-year-olds and their breaking-in is completed very early so that they can race as two-year-olds. The strain that is placed on them to be worked so hard at such a young age means that most wear up and die at around fourteen, compared to thirty for a well-looked after horse in light work. Most horses are backed as three-year-olds and begin light work as four-year-olds. Responsible owners will not put a horse into full work or a training schedule until around five years old when they are finished growth. Horses in the wild can breed at 2 and a half to three years, but young mares often have difficulty foaling and may also develop sway backs as a result of being pregnant at such a young age.

User Avatar

Wiki User

17y ago

What else can I help you with?